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July 19, 1927 A. G. M GREGOR APPARAIUS FOR TRANSPORTING CALCINE FROMROASTER FU AND CHARGING SAME INTO REVERBERATOR Y FURNACES 7 Sheets-Sheet1 Original Filed April 7-, 1923 July 19, 1927.

v A. G. M GREGOR 16,685 APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CALCIN E FROMROASTERFURNACES AND CHARGING SAME INTO REVERBERATORY FURNACES Original FiledApril 7, 1923 7 SheetsSheet 2.

July. 19; 1927;

Y A. G. M GREGOR APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CALCINE' FROM ROASTER FU OREVERBERATORY FURNACES '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 AND CHARGING SAME LNT OriginalFiled A ril "1923 July 19, 1927;

M GREGOR TING GALCINE FROM ROASTER FURNACES AND CHARGING S AME INTORFIVFERRFERATORY FURNACE 7 Sheets-Sheet APPARATUS FOR TRANSPOR Or1g1na1Filed April 771923 R 16,685 ROASTER FURNACES y 1927- A. G. M GREGORAPPARATUS FOR TRAN-SPORTING CALCINE FROM AND CHARGING SAME INTOREVERBERATORY FURNACES I 7 Sheet-Sheet 5 C ,7, Q .r L |H uHu 2 e Z 4 M aw Z 5 3 Q Q C mu July 19; 1927.

A- G. APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CALCINE FROM ROASTER FURNACES ANDCHARGING SAME INTO REVERBERATQRY FURNACES '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 OriginalFiled April 7, 1923 I b' 1 A. G. M GREGOR s APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTINGCALCINE FROM ROASTER FURNACES AND CHARGING SAME INTO REVERBERATORYFURNACES 4 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Original F1186. mm 7, 1923 Reiesued July 19,1927.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER GRANT MGGREGOR, F WARREN, ARIZONA.

: hours product 1 hearths superimposed from these overhead APPARATUS FOR,TRANSPORTING CALCINE FROM ROASTER FURNACES AND CHARGING SAME INTOREVERBERA'TGRY FURNACES.

Original No. 1,549,141, dated August 11, 1925, Serial No. 630,589, filedApril 7, 1923. Application for reissue filed July 1,1926. Serial No.121,730.

In extracting copper from its sulphide ores in copper smelting works itis common practice to roast the crushed ores or concentrates in roasterfurnaces having circular one above another. These roaster furnacesdischarge their product, commonly known as calcine, into hoppersunderneath, each of these hoppers usually having a capacity for holdingseveral of a furnace. The calcine hoppers are attached to the steel worksupporting the roaster furnace, and the furnace and hopper or hoppersare placed high enough above the ground so that cars run ning on trackson the ground below may be spotted under the gate or chute in the bottomof a hopper for receiving the calcine. The calcine. is then transferredin these socalled calcine cars from the roaster furnace department tothe reverberatory furnace department of the smelting works. In thetransfer the cars and contents' are usually weighed on a railroad scale.

A reverberatory furnace usually has a row of hoppers directly over eachof its two long side walls. Railroad tracks are usually provided overthese hoppers so that the contents of the calcine cars may be dischargedinto these reverberatory furnace hoppers and hoppers the calcine passesdown through pipes or tubes and through holes provided in the roof ofthe furnace. The pipes or tubes direct the charge in the holes in thefurnace roof, From this point the charge has a free fall through theatmosphere of the furnace to the pile of charge in the furnace below.The calcine charge, in thus passing down through these tubes to thefurnace roof, and through the holes in the roof, and also through thechamber of the furnace, gains considerable momentum which prevents a:part of it from lodging on the pile of charge below, but, in-

stead, causes it to continue its downward course and spread out over thepile of smelting charge below, and, to some extent, out over the moltenslag in the center of the furnace. The new charge thus becomes more orless incorporated with the slag thereby causing more or less loss of thecalcine. Also when the dusty charge passes through the holes in the roofof the furnace, it comes in contact with the heated walls surroundingsaid holes with the result that the charge particles flux away theheated refractory walls of the holes and the holes grow rapidly in sizerequiring frequent repairs and renewals. By depositing the chargethrough anextensible tube the lower end of which is ad acent orcontiguous to the pile of material in the furnace, as hereinafter setforth, the loss of valuable material in the slag is much lessened, asthe charge is prevented from running out over the slag-covered moltenbath; also the usual excessive wear and fluxing away of the furnacearch'around the charge holes is prevented.

As the calcine is usually very dusty a certain amount is lost in thetransfer from the roaster hopper to the calcine car, and from thecalcine car into the reverberatory furnace hoppers. Also the free fallthrough the atmosphere lnside the furnace liberates a great deal of dustso that, at the time of charging, the furnace is filled with dust.- Thedust thus raised has a number of bad effects or disadvantages, asfollows:

(a) The furnace roof is of silica brick and is maintained at a nearlyfusing temperature inside the furnace. The dust from the charge, beingbasic, it fluxes the nearly fusing silica and thus greatly increases theerosion of the furnace roof which requires freuent renewals.

(b) The fine dust settled upon the blanket of slag in the furnace andoften the proper fluxing element is not present for such dust particles,and they pass out of the furnace without giving up their precious metalvalue to the matte underneath the blanket of slag, and thus the dustraised inside the furnace increases the slag losses.

(0) A great deal of dustis carried along through the furnace by thestrong draft of the furnace, settling down in the flue connection, andin the waste heat boilers beyond, and, on the heating surface of saidboilers. Extra labor is required to keep the fines and boilers cleanedout. Also there is excessive wear on the boiler tubes, especially thefirst row of tubes, due to the sand blast effect of the dust particlesimpinging upon them.

Some of the dust raised in the furnace during the charging operationpasses entirely beyond the fiues and waste heat boilers and up throughthe stack and to the outside atmosphere, entailing further loss ofvaluable material.

By the system of calcine handling and furnace charging now practiced,the calcme leaving the last roaster hearth often has a temperature ofover 1200 F and often cools down to less than 700 F. before it isfinally deposited inside the reverberatory furnace. As about three heatunits in fuel are required to impart one heat unit to the charge in thefurnace, it is apparent that if the temperature of the calcine leavingthe roaster hearth be carefully conserved a considerable saving inreverberatory furnace fuel will result.

The present invention relates to an apparatus or system whereby calcinemay be transferred from a roaster furnace to the inside of areverberatory furnace in such a manner as to avoid the manydisadvantages hereinbefore indicated incidental to the present practice.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section,showing a transfer container located beneath a roasting furnace andadjacent a transfer car. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same looking fromthe right of Fig. 1, with the transfer car omitted. Fig. 3 is a planview of the trans for car with the container mounted thereon. Fig. 1 isan elevation of the same. Fig. 5

is an elevation showing a transfer car and a charging machine with acontainer mounted thereon adjacent a reverberatory furnace. Fig. 6 is anelevation of a charging machine with a container mounted thereon over areverberatory furnace. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the same looking fromthe right of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a detail plan view showing means forraising and lowering the sleeve of the telescoping charging tube. Fig. 9is a sectional elevation illustrating a modified form of chargingmachine.

Referr' to the drawings, 1 denotes a roasting furnace or furnaces fromwhich the hot roasted ores, in more or less comminuted form, aredischarged, as through an opening 2, into a chute 3, having an insulatedcovering is con- The outlet from the chute o trolled by a verticallymovable valve or gate 5 joined, by a cable 5 or other suitable flexibleconnection passing over a pulley 5 with an arm 6 controlled by anoperating handle 6, said arm and handle being preferably connectedwith arock-shaftfi", mounted in bearings 6 sustained by a suitable frame 6suspended beneath the roasting furnace 1.

Mounted at the lower end of the chute 3 is a sliding sleeve 7' also aninsulated covering 7 said 'sleeve being provided withupwardly'extendingarms 7 to which are attached cables or other suitableconnections 7 passing over pulleys 7 and running from said pulleys to anarm 8*- preferably having a will hang slightly on the rock-shaft 6 andto which rock-shaft is also attached an operating handle lever 8 bywhich and the connections referred to the said sleeve may be raised andlowered. The sliding sleeve 7 is provided with a flange 9 fittingclosely over the entrance mouth 10 of a container 11 when said containeris located beneath said sleeve, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1. Thecontainer 11 is preferably provided with an insulating lining 11?,although the said container may, if desired, have an insulatingcovering, as is shown on the chute 3 and sleeve 7, for the purpose ofretaining the heat in the material discharge from the roasting furnace1.

The containerll is shown in Fig. 1 as resting on a scale platform 12,said container being provided with an eye 13 adapted to be engaged by alifting hook 14 carried by an arm 15 of a three-armed walking-beammounted on a transfer car 16. The said car is provided with suitabletrucks 17 which, in practice, will be equipped with electric motorssimilar to the usual electric car trucks, for driving the car. Also thesaid car comprises an operators cab 18 which, in practice, will beequipped with suitable electric controllers to enable the operator tomanipulate the car and the parts mounted thereon by electric connectionsof well-known form, such connections receiving current from an overheadtrolley wire through a collector 19.

.Mounted on the transfer car 16 is a turn table 20 supporting a turret20 on which are mounted suitable supports 21 for the gudgeons 16 of thethree-armed walkingbeam which is to handle the containers 11. Thedepending arm 15 of the said walking-beam is provided with a fork 22.Mounted on the turntable 20 is an electric motor 23 the shaft of whichcarries a worm gear 23 meshing with a worm wheel 23" mounted on a shaft2 1 provided with a crank 25 and which crank is preferably provided witha sliding shoe 2T working in the fork 22. By means of this mechanismrocking movements may be imparted, when desired, to the three-armedwalkingbeam, as will be understood, for the purpose of lifting orlowering the containers,

Also mounted on the turn-table 20 is an electric motor 28 the shaft ofwhich carries a worm 28 meshing with a worm gear 28 on ashaft 28 havinga crank 28. Mounted to slide in bearings 29 supported on the turret 20is a thrust bar 291111 enlarged rear 'part'of which is provided with aslot 29 in which the crank 28 works; the outer end 29 of said thrust barimpinging against a container 11. The lifting eye 13 of the saidcontainer is so located that the container out of plumb, the lower endtending to swing in toward the turret 20, and the thrust bar 29 isprovided to overcome this tendency when the container rill isbeinglowered onto" a pl'at fo anscale 12; or onto'the platform"of'atransfer car, or onto aiplatforrn of a charging rnachine 31'.

Also mounted on the turn-table '20 is an electric motor 32 thesh'aft ofwhich is connected by suitable gearing 32* with the said turn-table,soth at the latter, Withthe Walktended functions, as hereinbeforeindicated.

- or "supports 35 The charging machine 31 is mounted on abridgeor'travelling crane 35' the side le'gs' wheels 34running' ontracks 34 on suitable ways [34" extending lengthwise of thereverberat'ory furnaceor furnaces 50, so that the said charging nachinemay be caused to travel back and"f ort-hover the furnace or The "chargngrnachine 1s" carried by a truck or trolley 36 provided with wheelsfurnaces.

36 running on tracks 36? on the travelling bridge or crane 35, so-thatsaid charging meof which are provided with" chine maybe caused to'trave'lfroin one side] to the other'of the said travelling bridge orcrane in charging the opposite sides of a furnace." To'efi'eet' thetravelling movements of the truck or trolley 36 on the tracks 36 anelectric motor 36 suitably eared to the driving Wheels oftlie said truckis prefer ably provided; In practice a' travelling bridge or crane and acharging 1nachine' thereonavill preferably"be provided idr each furnace.The truck or trolley 11, andsaid'contain'e'r is provided atits' bot--tomavith' a sliding gate 11* havlng anex tension 11 Workingthrough theside walls support 37 afforded by a bracket 37" mount-- ed on thetruckor trolley 36. hen the said 36 is provided with a support 31adapted to receive aco'n'tainer' lever is suspended from the hook3?",bas

shown in'Fig.".6', itsupp'er'j'eIId"will been? gaged'in' the eye'portion 11 of theoperatQ ing'extens'i'o'n 11 of'the' sliding gate-11andi parts of the telescopic tubes; as" shown 111 will' thus' be in a.pos tion to'movejthe-"said" sliding gate n 'andou't 'as'may' be desiredbut when the, said lever is" not in us'thf disengaged from y the"furcrurn support37' and the hoOkfST-fthenjhe' engaged with-saidsupport-,thus lowering said'lever out of the Way'and disengagingitfr'oin t-lle i'i operating" commenc s-1n. The

Ie v'erf ST may, be inani nateri al discharged from said container to achargingaube' consisting of amovable :;:lceve"4'l,' and" a fixed portionor tube part 41 extending from th'e'botto'm of said hopper The sleeve 41is provided with ears 41 to whi'chflare' attached chains 41 1Lu1 nin'gover pu'll'eys'41 Suitably supported on the "charging machine is anelectric niotor the"sh'aft'of which is'provided with a I \vori'n' 42"geared'to'a Worm wheel 42 on-a shaft" 42 carrying an upwardly extend arm42 jwitl'1 'which s connected a' link or clevis' 42? carrying an e'vener42 to which the eridsof the chains 41? are attached. By virtue of thisconstruction the sleeve portion 41 ofthe telescoping"charging tube maybe raised and lowered through holes '43 in the ,top' of thereverberatory furnace, as will be understood; p a V The furnaceis'pr'ovidedfat intervals near its sidewalls, or "at'any otherdesire'dpoints, withthe charging holes '43; and these charging holesarefurnished with easily removable covers fitting into sand lute's orseals 43 said covers being provided with lifting lugs x4if. The covers43 may be removed I from over"therharging holes by means or hooks theshanks of wliilch are jointed at v their upperends to levers 44" thefulcrulns 44" of said'leve'rs beingcon'centric with rollers 44iadapted'to be moved back and forth ontracks 449i henafcoveris removedlatera'llyas'slioWn' at the right in F the outer 'end f *thelever carrying said1100 may be engaged with a hooked retaining standard'44 on the platform38' The extensible part 41 of the telescopic tube is adapted' tofitrather closely in the charging openingso'r holes 43, in the roof orarch of the furnace, as will be understood from Figs. 6 and 7" of' the'drawings. This v is'i1nportant-,as, at the time of charging,

and when thetube'is extendeddown below the charging 'holes, the saidtube serves as a lining and'protector for the "said openings, thuspreventing the dusty calcine from coniing' in contact with the hot Walls'of said openings, and thereby avoiding the fluxing' away of the furnacearch around said open with. an opening; communicating with the e ead ofara me' '45 which su ports a of which communicates with the chamber ofthe said spout The spout 45 serves as an air and dust vent from thecharging tube, and the fabric bag 45 is of closely Woven material whichwill permit the passage of air but will retain dust particles which mayfall back into the spout 45 and be returned to the hopper 39.

Supported from the top of the frame 45 is a cover 46 fitting closelyover the mouth 1 O of the container 11, sai-d'cover being adapted to beraised and lowered by means of a float 46 and a chain 46 passing overpulleys 46 supported by the said frame 45". The float 46 may be used asa sounding device by the operator for ascertaining the approximateamount of charge in the container at any time. Supported from the top ofthe cal) 18 of the transfer car is a cover 47 which may be fitted overthe open mouth 10 of a container 11 when the container is beingtransferred from the roasting furnace to the reverberatory furnace, saidcover being attached to a chain 47 running over pulleys 47 and downwardto a point convenient for access by the operator.

It will be understood that by reason of the fact that as each container11 is provided with a heat insulating lining, and that the chute 3 andsleeve 7 are also provided with heat insulating coverings, the heat inthe hot material discharged from the roasting fur nace will be retainedso that the roasted material may be delivered to the reverberatoryfurnace while still hot, thereby greatly cconomizing heat in thesmelting operation, as hereinbefore indicated. Also the radiation ofheat from the inside of the containers in being transferred from theroasting furnace to the rcverberatory or smelting furnace will beprevented by the cover 47 on the transfer car and the cover 46 on thecharging machine.

Fi g. 9 illustrates a modified form of charging machine most of theparts of which are similar to those of the charging machine hereinbeforedescribed, and are similarly indicated by reference characters, but inthis modified form of charging machine two in clined charging tubeshaving fixed portions 51 and sliding sleeve portions 52 are provided,these inclined charging tubes communicating through a tubular portion 53with the hopper 39 which receives the material from the container 11. Agate 54 is mounted in the sleeve portion 53 so that the material fromthe said hopper may be directed into either one of these inclinedcharging tubes which are arranged to extend through inclined openings43'' in the reverberatory smelting furnaces 50. Connected with thesliding sleeves 52 are chains 55 run ning over pulleys 56 mounted onshafts 57 carrying worm wheels 58 meshing with Worms 59 on the shafts ofelectric motors 60;

These connections between the sliding sleeves 52 and the electric motors6O enable the said sleeves to be moved up and down, as will beunderstood- The sliding sleeve portions 52 of the charging tubes rest onsteadying wheels 61.

The operation of my system may be described as follows: The transfer carhaving an empty container supported by one arm of the walking-beam 15 isstopped opposite a filled container at the roaster plant. At this timethe gate or valve 5 is closed and sleeve 7 is raised. lVith the emptycontainer attached to one arm, the walking-beam is swung around and itsother arm is engaged with a loaded container located beneath the chute3. The loaded container is then raised slightly from the scale uponwhich it was resting and is swung around and set upon the platform 30 ofthe transfer car, the empty container at such time acting partly as acounterbalance for the loaded container.

The hook 14 is then disengaged from the loaded container and the beam isswung around and the empty container is set upon the scale platform 12just vacated by the loaded container. The sleeve 7 is now lowered toclose the space between chute 3 and the mouth 10 of the container andthe valve 5 is opened by being lowered. After the arm 15 of thewalking-beam is disengaged from the empty container it is swung in aposition nearly parallel with the axis of the car so as to reduce theclearance required for the car, but neither arm 15 of the walking-beamneed engage the lifting eye of the loaded container.

The transfer car carrying the loaded container now proceeds to thereverberatory furnace plant and stops opposite a charging machine havingan empty container resting upon it. The Walking-beam is then swungaround and one arm 15 engages the lifting eye of the empty container.The empty container is lifted and the beam is swung around and the otherarm is engaged with the lifting eye of the loaded container. With theempty container assisting in countar-balancing the loaded container. thelatter is lifted off the car and swung around to take the place on thecharging machine just vacated by the empty container. After the beam isdisengaged from the loaded container, the empty container is swungaround over the platform 30 of the car. The empty container may or maynot be lowered to rest upon the platform, and the hook is not disengagedfrom it. The transfer car with the empty container is now ready toproceed back to the roaster plant, thus completing its cycle ofoperation.

The charging machine carrying a loaded container and withhandle 37engagedwith gate 11 is stopped with the sleeve 41 directly above acharge hole through which a 3 side the furnace.

ust deposited 'is closed and the lever i charge is to be delivered. Thecharge hole down so that'its lower end rests upon, or

the melting charge in- The gate 11 is now opened by means of handle 37and the hot calcine from container 11 is allowed to run down through thecharging tube 41" and sleeve 41 and be deposited upon the melting chargealready in the furnace. The sleeve 41 is then gradually raised slowlyenough at all times so that its lower end is keptfilled up The dustycharge will thus slide gently nearly rests upon,

posited, but in no event is the be raised fast enough so that thematerial issuing from its lower end will have a free fall through thefurnace atmosphere and thus liberate a cloud of dust. I

The bottom end of the sleeve 41 may thus be raised gradually up to thefurnace arch leaving a somewhat conical shaped pile of charge beneath.If desired the sleeve may be pressed down again, crowding the chargesideways and out further into the, furnace. The slow raising operationmay be repeated and additional charge deposited. The downward thrustingand spreading of the charge and the slow raising may be repeated severaltimes if desired. When sufficient charge has been deposited the gate 11is closed, the sleeve 41 is then entirely removed from thecharge hole 43of the furnace, and the cover 43 replaced. The bridge or travellingcrane 35 may then proper position for lowering the sleeve 41 in the next\Vhen the container 11 is empty gate 11 37 is shifted so that it will besupported by hook 37 on fulcrum 37. In this way the upper end of lever37 will bedown in the clear so that the container 11 maybe swung aroundwithout in-' terfering with said lever 37. \Vhen the loaded container isagain placed on the support 31 the upper end of lever 37 is moved up soas to enter the hole 11 and thus engage the gate stem 11?, and in thisraised position the lever 37 will be supported by hook 37". In thisposition lever 37 can be used to openor close the gate 11 at will.

description of the invention and the accompanying drawings are for.illustrative purposes only, and that the mechanical details of theapparatus shown and described from the'spirit of the invention; Forexthe container'll may be placed upon another car at the right hand endof Fig. 4

for some distance with the charge;

down the slopes of that which was first desleeve 41 to place 1t fillingopening at its top,

be moved along the-furnace and stopped in hole 43 to be charged, and soon vtrolling said discharge It is to be understoodthat the foregoing.

may be varied widely without departing ing or hoisting mechanism. Alsothe chargingtube and sleeve projecting down inside of the furnace at'thetime of charging, for the purpose of preventing, dust inside: thefurnace, might be .employed in connection with a stationary hopperwithout departing from the spirit of my invention. Also the tube andtelescopic sleeve might be used in connection with a movable charge carrunning on a track over the furnace.

Having thus described my invention I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. An apparatus for transferring hot ore product from a roasting furnaceto a smelt: ing furnace, comprising a container having a heatnon-conducting or insulated outer wall, a filling opening at its top, adischarge opening at its bottom, and a gate for con trolling saiddischarge opening, combined with means for transferring said containerfrombeneath a roasting furnace when filled to a position over a smeltingfurnace into which its contents are to be. discharged, said meanscomprising a transfer car provided with lifting and-transporting meansadapted to raise said container when filled and on said carandsubsequently move saidcontainer from the car and place it over thesmelting'furnace. i

2. An apparatus for transferring hot ore product from a roasting furnaceto. a. smelt- I ing furnace, comprising acontainer having a i adischarge opening'at its bottom, and a gate forcontrolling. saiddischarge "opening combined with means for transferring said containerfrom beneath a roasting furnace when filled tova position over asmelting furnace into which itscontents are to be discharged, said meanscomprising a transfer car provided with lift- 1 ing and transportingmeans adapted to raise said container when filled and place it on saidcar and subsequently'move said container from the car and place it overthe smelting furnace. I

3. An apparatusfor transferring hot ore product from a roasting furnaceto a smelting furnace, comprising a container having a vfillingfopeningat its top, a discharge openingatits bottom, and. agate for 'con--opening, combined with means for transferring said container frombeneath a roasting furnace'when filled to a position over asmeltingfurnace into which its contents are to be discharged, said meanscomprising a transfer car having a turn-table, a three-armedwalking-beam mounted on said turn-table, and means for operating saidturn-table and said walkingbeam. r r l f4. An apparatus for transferringhot ore product from a roasting furnace to a smelting furnace,comprising a container having a filling opening at its top, a dischargeopening at its bottom, and a gate for controlling said dischargeopening, combined with means for transferring said container frombeneath a roasting furnace when filled to a position over a. smeltingfurnace into, which its contents are to be discharged, said meanscomprising a transfer car provided with lifting and transporting meansadapted to raise said container when filled and place it on said car, acharging machine to which said container may be transferred from saidcar by said lifting and transporting means, said charging machine havingan extensible charging tube, and means for moving said charging machineover the smelting furnace.

5. An apparatus for transferring hot ore product from a roasting furnaceto a smelting furnace, comprising a container having a filling openingat its top, a. discharge opening at its bottom, and a gate forcontrolling said discharge opening, combined with means for transferringsaid container from beneath a roasting furnace when filled to a positionover a smelting furnace into which its contents are to be discharged,said means comprising a transfer car having a.

turn-table, a three-armed walking-beam mounted on said turn-table, andmeans for operating said turn-table and said Walkingbeam, a chargingmachine to which said container may be transferred from said car by saidlifting and transporting means, said charging machine having anextensible charging tube, and means for moving said charging machineover the smelting furnace.

6. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where theproduct of aroasting furnace is to be transferred to a smelter, a system of portableclosed containers and transfer car and suitable means means for saidcontainers whereby the full containers from a roasting furnace arereplaced by empty containers from a smelter, and empty containers from asmelter are replaced by full containers from a roasting furnace.

7. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where the product of aroasting furnace is to be transferred to a smelter, a system of portableclosed containers and transfer means. for said containers whereby thefull containers from a roasting furnace are re placed by emptycontainers from a smelter, and empty containers from a smelter arereplaced by full containers from a roasting furnace, said meansconsisting of a transfer for moving said containers to and from saidtransfer car i 8. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where theproduct of a roasting furnace is to be transferred to a smelter, asystem of portable closed containers and trans- -replaced by empty fermeans for said containers whereby the full containers from a roastingfurnace are containers from a smelter, and empty containers fromreplaced by full containers from a roasting furnace, said meansconsisting of a transfer car having means for raising and lowering saidcontainers.

9. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where the product of aroasting fur-- nace is to be transferred to a smelter, a system ofportable closed containers and transfer means for said containerswhereby the full containers are replaced by empty containers from asmelter, and empty containers from a smelter are replaced by fullcontainers from a roasting furnace, said means consisting of a transfercar having means for raising and lowering said containers, and means formovin said containers horizontally.

10. In a plant for handling comminuted placed by full containers from aroasting furnace, said means consisting of a transfer car havingsuitable means for moving said containers to and from said car, said carhaving a platform upon which to rest said containers while they arebeing transferred from a roasting furnace to a smelting fur nace.

11. In a ores where the product of a roasting furnace is tobetransferred to a smelter, a sys tem of portable closed containers andtransfer means for said containers whereby the full containers from aroasting furnace are replaced by empty containers from a smelter, andempty containers from a smelter are replaced by full containers furnace,said means consisting ofa transfer car having propelling means, arevolving turret, and hoisting means on said revolving turret forlifting and lowering said containers.

12. In a ores where is to be transferred to a smelter, a system ofportable. closed containers and transfer means'forsaid containerswhereby the full containers from a roasting furnace are replaced byempty containers from a smelter, and empty containers from a smelter arereplaced by full containers from a roasting furnace, said'meansconsisting of a transfer car having propelling means, arevolving turret,hoisting means on said revolving turret for'lifting and lowering saidcontainers,

a smelter are from a roasting furnace plant for handling comminuted froma roasting plant for handling comminuted i the product of a roastingfurnace and empty containers while they are moved from one furnace ofthe plant to another.

13. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where the product of aroasting furnace is to be transferred to a smelter, a system of portableclosed containers and transfer means for said containers whereby thefull containers from a roasting furnace are replaced by empty containersfrom a smelter,

from a smelter are replacedby full containers from a roasting furnace,said transfer means consisting of a transfer car having a revolvingturret provided with hoisting means extending on two opposite sides,whereby an empty container on one side may be used to partlycounterbalance a loaded container on the other side. 14. In a plant forhandling comminuted oreswhere the productof a roasting furnace is to betransferred to a smelter, a system of portable closed containers meansfor said containers whereby the full containers from a roasting furnaceare replaced by empty containers from a smelter, and empty containersfrom a smelter are replaced by' full containers from a roasting furnace,said means consisting of a transfer car having a revolving turretprovided with hoisting means on two-opposite sides, whereby an emptycontainer on one side may be used to partly counterbalance a loadedcontainer on the other side, and a support for a loaded container whilethe hoisting means on one side isswinging around to engage an emptycontainer that will serve as a counterbalance transfer Icar'to itssupport at the desired location. j p v 15. In a plant for handlingcomminuted ores where the product of aroasting furnace is to betransferred to a smelter, a system of portable closed containers andmeans for said containers whereby the full containers from a roastingfurnace are replaced by empty containers from a smelter, and emptycontainers from a smelter are replaced by full containers from aroasting furnace, said means consisting of a transfer car havingpropelling means, a revolving support, and a Walking-beam mounted onsaid support, said walking-beam having means at its outer ends forengaging said containers, and means for causing the walking beam tooscillate up and down in raising or lowering the containers.

16. An apparatus for transferring hot ore product from a roastingfurnaceto a smelting furnace, comprising a container having a heatnon-conducting or insulated outer wall, a filling opening at one side ofits top, a lifting engagement device near the central part of said topand a discharge opening at its bottom, combined with a gate forcontrolling said discharge openmg and with means for transferring saidcontainer from beneath and transfer dus while swinging the loadedcontainer ofl the transfer a roasting furnace, when filled, to aposition over a smelting furnace into which its contents are to bedischarged, said means comprising a transfer car provided with liftingand transporting means adapted to engage said lifting device so as toraise said container when filled and place it on said car andsubsequently move said container from the car and place it over thesmelting fur: nace, the one-sided location of said filling openingpermitting the container to be engaged by the lifting means withoutinterference.

17. A. transfer car having propelling means, revolving support, awalking-beam mounted on said support, means, mounted upon the body ofsaid car, for rotating said support, said at its outer ends for engagingloads, and

means forcausing the walking-beam to os-.

cillate up and down in performing its function of raising and loweringthe containers.

11.8. An apparatus for charging a reverberatory furnace with dustymaterial, comprising a tube with means for projecting it down intothe'saidfurnace at the time of charging so that its lower end may restor nearly rest upon the surface of material alin" the furnace, the newLy charge thus passing furnace-through said tube, means for gradu; allyraising said tube allowing the charge to progressively buildup and slopesome what conically from the lower end of said tube, and means wherebysaid tube may be again forced down into said furnace, flattening out thecharge material already in the furnace in such a way that the upper partof said pile of charge will be forced downwardly over the sloping partof said charge without any ofsaid charge having afree fall through theatmosphere inside of said furnace, thus making room for more chargewithout the liberation of dust inside of said furnace.

19. A system for transferring calcine from a roaster furnace to areverberatory walking beam having meansdown into said ill! furnace,consisting of portable closed c'on- I tainers adapted to be locatedunder a roaster furnace, for receiving the product ofsaid roasterfurnace, means for transferring said containers to the reverberatoryfurnace, means for discharging the contents of said containers directlyfrom said containers into said reverberatory furnace, and means foravoiding a free fall of said charge through the atmosphere inside ofsaid lastnamed furnace.

20. A system for transferring calcine from a. roaster furnace to areverberato-ry furnace for the purpose of reducing temperature-and dustlosses, consisting of portable, heat-insulated, closed containersadapted to be placed under a roaster furnace, for receiving the productof said roaster furnace,

means for transferring full containers from the roaster furnace to areverberatory fur nace, means for discharging the contents of saidcontainers directly into said reverbera tory furnace, and means foravoiding a free fall of the charge through the atmosphere of saidlast-named furnace.

21. A system for transferring calcine from a roaster furnace to areverberatory furnace, consisting of portable closed containers adaptedto be placed under the roaster furnace, for receiving the hot product ofsaid roaster furnace, means for transferring said containers to thereverberatory furnace, means for discharging the contents of saidcontainers directly from said containers into said reverberatoryfurnace, and means for avoiding a free fall of the charge through theatmosphere of said last-named furnace.

22. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where the product of aroasting furnace is to be transferred to a smelter, a system of portableclosed containers, and transfer means for said containers whereby thefull containers from a roasting furnace are replaced by empty containersfrom a smelter, and empty containers from a smelter are replaced by fullcontainers from a roasting furnace, said means consisting of a transfercar having means for raising and lowering said containers, and means forsteadying the containers laterally when lifted.

23. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where the product of aroasting furnace is to be transferred to'a smelter, a system of portableclosed containers, and transfer means for said containers whereby thefull containers from aroast-ing furnace are re placed by emptycontainers from a smelter,

and empty containers from a smelter are replaced by full containers froma roasting furnace, said means consisting of a transfer car having meansfor raising and lowering said containers, means for moving saidcontainers horizontally, and means for steadying the containerslaterally when lifted.

24-. In a plant for handling comminuted ores where the product of aroasting furnace is to be transferred to a smelter, a system of portableclosed containers, and transfer means for said containers whereby thefull containers from a roasting furnace are re-' placed by emptycontainers from a smelter, and empty containers from a smelter arereplaced by full containers from a roasting furnace, said meansconsisting of a transfer car having suitable means for lifting saidcontainers and moving them onto and of! from said car, said car havingalsomeans for steadying said containers laterally to hold them uprightwhen lifted, and a platform upon which to rest said containers whilethey are being transferred from a roasting furnace to a smeltingfurnace.

The. combination with a reverberatory furnace for smelting dustymaterials, said furnace having charging holes in its roof, cf anextensible tube fitting said holes and adapted to be projected downbelow said holes into the furnace chamber so that its lower end in y bebrought near or contiguous to the pile of material in said chamber, andmeans for gradually raising said tube allowing the charge to beprogressively built up and sloped somewhat conically from the lower endof, said tube without spreading over the molten bath and without raisinga cloud of dust inside the furnace; whereby slag losses will belessenedand free dust from dusty materials will be prevented from escaping intothe furnace chamber;

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ALEXANDER GRANT MoGRIJGUR.

